Wikipedia

Historic Wendover Airfield

The Historic Wendover Airfield is an aviation museum located at Wendover Airport in Wendover, Utah focused on the history of Wendover Air Force Base.

Historic Wendover Airfield
The former operations building
Historic Wendover Airfield is located in Utah
Historic Wendover Airfield
Location within Utah
Established2001 (2001)
LocationWendover, Utah
Coordinates40°43′41″N 114°02′16″W / 40.7280°N 114.0377°W / 40.7280; -114.0377
TypeAviation museum
FounderJim Petersen
CuratorLandon Wilkey[1]
Websitewww.wendoverairfield.org

History

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Background

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Further information: Wendover Air Force Base

Due to the remote location and favorable climate, many of the buildings at the base remained in unaltered, although somewhat deteriorated, condition.[citation needed] For this reason, the base was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.[2]

Establishment

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The Historic Wendover Airfield Foundation was established in 2001 after Jim Petersen visited the airport as part of a tour group. The following year he became airport manager.[3] The project began with the renovation of, and opening a museum in, the former operations building in March of that year.[4][5]

The Enola Gay Hangar was placed on the 2009 list of America's Most Endangered Places and as a result the foundation received a number of grants, including one from the Save America's Treasures program, that allowed the structure to be restored.[6][3] This was followed by the rededication of the control tower in 2012 and the completion of work on the service club in 2015.[7][8]

The museum encountered some controversy when, in 2017, it agreed to display one of the one thousand origami cranes folded by atomic bomb victim Sadako Sasaki.[9]

The museum acquired a Douglas C-54 Skymaster in September 2020.[10][better source needed] Two months later, one of the barracks was destroyed by fire after a stove was left unattended.[11][12] Then, in 2021, the museum unveiled a four phased plan, called "Save Where They Walked", for the restoration of many of the remaining buildings on the airport.[13][better source needed][14]

The museum placed a replica of the Fat Man atomic bomb on display in June 2023.[15]

Facilities

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Enola Gay hangar before restoration in January 2006
  • 2410 barracks – restoration completed[16]
  • Administration building – restoration ongoing[17]
  • B-29 hangar – restoration ongoing[18]
  • Control tower – restoration completed[19]
  • Dining hall – restoration ongoing[20]
  • Norden bombsight storage – restoration completed, 2013[21]
  • Nurse's quarters – restoration ongoing[22]
  • Service club – restoration completed[23]
  • Shower and latrine building – restoration upcoming[24]

Exhibits

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Exhibits at the museum include a replica of the Little Boy atomic bomb, an origami crane made by Sadako Sasaki, World War II homefront materials, World War II uniforms and prototype atomic bomb components.[25][26][27][28][29]

Collection

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Aircraft

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Ground vehicles

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Events

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The museum holds an annual airshow.[32][33][34]

See also

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References

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Footnotes

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Landon Wilkey". Utah State University. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Asset Detail". National Park Service. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  3. ^ a b Benson, Lee (2 August 2020). "The End of World War II Began in Wendover". Deseret News. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Airfield Museum Open". Tooele Transcript-Bulletin. 7 March 2002. p. B2. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  5. ^ Sagers, Larry (2002). "Wendover's Big Part in Ending World War II". Tooele Valley. Vol. 4, no. 1. pp. 5–8. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  6. ^ Gates, Chuck (31 May 2010). "Historic Wendover Hangar Saved". Deseret News. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Crews Restore WWII Control Tower". The Spectrum. 3 June 2012. p. C5. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  8. ^ Copelan, Corinne (30 October 2015). "Wendover Air Base Service Club Returned to Former Glory for Veterans". High Desert Advocate. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  9. ^ Glionna, John M. (2 June 2021). "Veteran's Mission: Turn Historic Airfield into Museum". Las Vegas Review-Journal. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  10. ^ Pettersen, Ralph M. (11 November 2023). "DC-4 - DC-6 - DC-7 News". Propliner Information Exchange. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  11. ^ Stauffer, McKenzie (24 November 2020). "Historic Military Barracks at Wendover Airbase Destroyed by Fire". KUTV. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  12. ^ Cabrero, Alex (9 December 2020). "Historic WWII Airfield Damaged by Fire". KSLTV. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  13. ^ "HWA Save Where They Walked Capital Campaign". YouTube. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g h "Support". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  15. ^ Cabrero, Alex (21 June 2023). "Replica of Historic WWII Atomic Bomb to Debut at Wendover Air Museum". KSLTV. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  16. ^ "2410 Barracks". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  17. ^ "Administration Building 1808". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  18. ^ "B-29 Hangar". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Control Tower". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  20. ^ "Dining Hall". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  21. ^ "Norden Bombsight Storage". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  22. ^ "Nurse's Quarters". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  23. ^ "John T. Brinkman: Service Club". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  24. ^ "Shower and Latrine Building". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  25. ^ "Little Boy Replica Exhibit". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  26. ^ "Sadako Saskai Paper Crane Exhibit". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  27. ^ "Wendover Homefront Exhibit". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  28. ^ "WWII Uniforms Exhibit". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  29. ^ "Bomb Prototype Component Exhibits". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  30. ^ "Douglas C-54 Skymaster". Historic Wendover Airfield. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  31. ^ "F-86L". Historic Wendover Airfield. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  32. ^ "Air Show – Event Information". Historic Wendover Airfield. Archived from the original on 8 July 2020. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  33. ^ Molyneux, Logan (26 August 2005). "Air Appparent". Daily Herald. pp. B1–B2. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
  34. ^ Joseph, Spencer (25 August 2023). "Wendover Air Show is Ready for Takeoff This Weekend". FOX 13. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
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